The white pillar of light before him suddenly began to flicker erratically, revealing traces of runes at its edges, sending out intermittent waves.
"Hmm?!"
Ronan frowned slightly and looked to the side, discovering that not only he, but also the other seven standing on their stone pillars were experiencing the same phenomenon.
The third round of the ranking battle was about to begin, but it seemed that something had gone wrong with the entire arena's mechanism.
"Boom!"
At that moment, the rocky platform at the center, serving as the battleground, suddenly cracked, and a large amount of debris fell, while countless colorful lights gushed up from below like a spring.
Amidst this tremor, a mysterious and deep purple pillar of light abruptly shot up from the center of the "spring" like a sword.
The purple pillar instantly reached its peak, enveloping the rocky platform below and the thirty-two stone pillars, both bright and dim, within it. In an instant, a small part of the sky was tinted with purple light, with a distinctly visible ring of shining points forming a circular shape, resembling a miniature starry sky.
This sudden change stunned everyone. Ronan fixed his gaze on the dazzling points of light that formed the ring.
Unexplainably, an incredibly strong desire surged within him.
He could hardly resist the urge to reach out, across the heavy distance of space, to grasp that mysterious and brilliant light.
"It's a legacy."
A deep voice sounded.
At first, the voice maintained a relative calm, but soon, the speaker's tone conveyed an uncontrollable tremor.
"It's the legacy of Herams, the Master of the Elements."
"It has appeared ahead of time!"
"Boom!"
As the voice fell, a wave of discussions erupted like a mountain roaring and the sea surging, all the wizards present were shaken, and the entire Fairy Ancient City ruins became lively! The first genius in the history of the Upper Ring Continent, the legendary wizard, hailed as the "born master of the elements"—Herams! He buried part of his legacy in the south, attracting countless exceptionally talented wizards for thousands of years to follow in his footsteps.
This legacy had quietly remained there, with the competition for Herams' genius seat held once every hundred years, each session giving birth to a champion, yet no one had ever qualified to touch it. Over the long years, whether this legacy truly existed gradually became a mystery.
Now, the ancient rumors were finally confirmed! "Time washes away everything, but some things exist like immortal pearls; their brilliant light will one day sweep away the dust on the surface and reveal themselves to the world again."
Someone murmured excitedly.
At this moment, almost no one cared about the issue of Herams' legacy suddenly appearing before the third round of the ranking battle; everyone's attention was drawn to the legacy itself.
The eight people standing on the stone pillars were no exception, including Serena.
This noble princess from a powerful wizard empire in the central continent, with her stunningly beautiful and cold face, showed a hint of emotion for the first time.
Ronan stared intently at the dazzling ring within the mysterious deep purple.
That brilliance seemed to possess a certain fatal attraction for him, not due to the unparalleled reputation of "Herams," but rather a strange connection.
He felt as if he had reached a subtle resonance with the mysterious center of brilliance, drawing each other closer.
Ronan had never experienced such a feeling.
Whether it was the bloodline of the Ancient Frost Hydra Hecalto or Schbiert's Golden Country, he had never felt such a strong desire before obtaining them as he did now.
——
It is waiting for me!
It belongs to me!
It was as if a voice was desperately shouting in Ronan's heart.
His eyes gradually sparkled with brilliant light, and his naturally drooping hands slowly clenched.
Whether it was truly some "destined pull," that mysterious brilliance... unexpectedly drew closer to Ronan in response to his heart's desire and call.
The dazzling ring at the center of attention suddenly descended, falling in a certain direction, attracting countless gazes.
When they discovered that the object representing Herams' core legacy was falling towards a figure on one of the eight stone pillars, their expressions gradually turned incredulous.
The other seven geniuses on the stone pillars also furrowed their brows, some with their expressions and faces quickly darkening.
Ronan could feel the intense heat contained in the countless gazes directed at him; he had become the focal point of attention.
But at that moment, he had no energy to care about any of that.
All his attention was drawn to the brilliance that was so close at hand.
Although he was filled with an indescribable desire for what that brilliance contained.
When it was finally placed before him, as if he could obtain it with just a slight reach, Ronan hesitated instead.
It came too suddenly, so suddenly that it felt extremely unreal.
Ronan hesitated, but ultimately, he slowly reached out towards the dazzling ring before him.
As he extended his hand, powerful waves of mental energy erupted from the other seven stone pillars, various pressures crashing towards him like a tide. Ronan seemed oblivious to it all, simply reaching forward.
When his fingertips finally touched the edge of that brilliance, suddenly, "Buzz—"
A strange wave erupted from the brilliance, instantly spreading in all directions.
The peculiar light wave swept through the void, and almost everyone touched by the wave froze momentarily, as if receiving some kind of message. The entire Fairy Ancient City ruins suddenly fell silent.
In a corner of the crowd, where no one could see, the gray-haired, blue-eyed Lin Di Si smiled, lightly tapping his pale, slender fingers on a golden compass, murmuring to himself, "The game has begun."
At the same time, Ronan, who was maintaining the action of reaching out to touch the brilliance.
After feeling the ancient information conveyed through the wave, he unexpectedly became calm and settled.
The previous entanglements, hesitations, and doubts... all vanished at this moment.
"Indeed."
Ronan shook his head, then continued to reach forward with a calm expression.
His five fingers gently grasped that brilliance, which suddenly burst apart with a "bang," transforming into countless twinkling lights, resembling a miniature galaxy, swirling around Ronan.
"The Blood Battle of Herams."
"I knew it."
At the Life Court base, Moriel sat swinging her legs on a red lotus staff, in front of her, a flame-formed red bird hopped around.
"Did this guy's prayer come true?
Is he really going to die on stage?"
Moriel muttered, feeling a bit bored, and with a "bang," crushed the flame red bird before her, lazily casting an emotionless glance at a figure in her line of sight, yawning in boredom.
"Let's just end this damned boring match that has no excitement at all."
"The Blood Battle of Herams... what is it?"
Below, Grace, who had been silent since the competition began, finally couldn't help but speak up.
She looked at the silver-haired witch beside her with a questioning gaze. In fact, the information conveyed through the wave she had just encountered was already very clear, but she still wanted to confirm it again.
The silver-haired witch pondered, and before she could speak, the young wizard Donny, whose face was covered in graffiti, coldly answered first, "It means the legacy has chosen him.
But he must defeat all the remaining people on the field to truly obtain the legacy. This guy is doomed! There's absolutely no other possibility!"
The certainty and disdain in Donny's tone made Grace's expression change slightly, and she instinctively took out a Message Stone, as if wanting to convey something to someone.
But beside her, the silver-haired witch sighed softly.
"It's useless; this is not something he can decide."
Grace's movement froze, and then she heard the silver-haired witch quietly say, "'The Blood Battle of Herams' once it begins, the chosen one cannot refuse, cannot concede, cannot give up; they must defeat all the competitors and make it to the end, otherwise, the only outcome is to die on stage. If this session were just a simple gathering of southern genius wizards, he might still have a slim chance.
But this time, he has encountered Princess Serena attending; he can only blame his own bad luck."
Donny coldly echoed, "At most the second round, oh no, he'll probably fall in the first round; he doesn't even have the qualifications to stand before Princess Serena, haha."
Listening to the two, Grace's expression was dazed, and unconsciously, the Message Stone she held to contact Ronan was gripped tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white.
After a brief silence, the vast Fairy Ancient City ruins, with tens of thousands of wizards watching, erupted once again.
Countless people began to discuss the newly acquired information about "The Blood Battle of Herams."
All the previous awe, admiration, and envy towards Ronan transformed into regret, sympathy, and even more, a mocking glee.
The brilliance that fell from the sky did not represent a legacy, nor the favor and gift from Herams, but rather a blade capable of piercing the heart and stripping away the soul.
For many, having the opportunity to witness a dazzling prodigy, a heavenly talent, fighting to the death before them was a rare and sought-after event.
Some had even mentally prepared to vividly recount this blood-stained chapter to those who were not present after the event concluded.
Among the crowd, perhaps only the Silver Magic Ring and members of the Azure Mist Society remained silent, each enveloped in an inexplicable heavy emotion.
"All gifts of fate have long been marked with a price in the dark."
"Isn't it interesting? Doru."
In the crowd, Lin Di Si, seemingly existing in another space, looked at the various expressions of the lower-level wizards around him, naturally revealing a somewhat superior demeanor.
"Witnessing a relatively powerful individual die in misfortune, with the surrounding crowd reveling in discussions about their corpse, is truly an ancient habit imprinted in the bloodline."
Lin Di Si closed his eyes, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth, as if he enjoyed the feeling of dominating the fates and emotions of others.
The figure in the black robe remained silent, fully aware of the other's temperament and having anticipated the outcome of all this.
Lin Di Si had never intended to truly leave Herams' legacy on this southern land for anyone; all he wanted was a game.
And the one he chose to be the "protagonist" of this game. The black-robed man's gaze instinctively turned towards a figure surrounded by the illusory brilliance in the distance, a complex sympathy inexplicably surging within him.
Destined to die either dimly or brilliantly under the gaze of the masses.
'Will I meet the same fate?'
The black-robed man couldn't help but recall the various promises Lin Di Si had made to him, his gaze dropping.
"Any one of them on the field has the potential to kill Ronan Damien."
"Who do you think he will ultimately die at the hands of?"
"This is an inescapable trap; once stepped into, one can only wait for death to arrive amidst an ethereal hope."
Ronan stood on his stone pillar, the voices of the onlookers discussing him constantly ringing in his ears.
He looked up; everyone on the other seven stone pillars was watching him, their expressions varied, but most of their gazes concealed intense heat and desire, along with unabashed coldness.
He was not the one favored by "luck."
On the contrary, he seemed to be the only "unlucky one" among the eight who had been chosen.
He needed to defeat everyone currently on the field to possibly obtain the legacy left by Herams, while the other seven only needed to kill him to have a chance to claim that legacy for themselves.
An unfair game forced Ronan to gamble his life.
He could not refuse.
Yet, surprisingly, Ronan felt unexpectedly calm.
Long ago, he had become accustomed to being toyed with by fate time and again, facing desperate situations.
For a wizard who had grown like a weed from the cracks of the lowest level, he had experienced too many life-and-death struggles.
"Fog... fog."
Ronan silently rolled this word in his heart, suddenly gaining some clarity.
Perhaps the reason why the third level was referred to as the "fog stage" by ancient wizards was not solely about the exploration and search for knowledge, spells, and the soul, but also something deeper.
For instance, what did he truly want? Some embarked on the path of wizardry to pursue omnipotent power.
Some sought to attain all-encompassing wisdom.
Some were intoxicated by the splendid scenery they encountered and experienced.
Some dreamed of building their own ideal homeland. Everyone had their own deepest desires to pursue, which also supported them in climbing high and far on the path of wizardry.
But what did Ronan want to pursue? He had forgotten when his heart began to feel somewhat lost.
After leaving the life of a wandering wizard, with his strength continuously improving and no longer facing the constant threat of death, he had become somewhat bewildered.
This bewilderment enveloped his path like an invisible fog, causing him to wander aimlessly.
At this moment, however, Ronan suddenly understood.
The fog in his mind was gently lifted, and confusion receded.
The sudden arrival of the Blood Battle of Herams, the long-lost crisis of death, either to die in a brilliant bloom or to become even more glorious after breaking through all obstacles! "Fate..."
Ronan took a deep breath, his five fingers slowly closing, "What I have always wanted is to completely dominate my own fate!"
He no longer wanted to be a puppet, manipulated and helpless.
"Crack—"
The sound of something breaking.
Deep within his soul, it felt as if impurities and ailments were shedding, giving rise to a small, wondrous transformation.
In an instant, the thick gray clouds behind Ronan surged violently.
Layers of gray waves gathered, and the colorful light gushing from the void formed a light bridge at this moment, extending from beneath Ronan's feet to the increasingly towering and massive platform at the center.
Ronan stepped onto the light bridge, walking one step at a time towards the central platform.
When he stood in the middle of the platform, the gray clouds surging behind him completely transformed into a massive and profound shadow.
Within the shadow, it seemed to conceal a fearsome multi-headed beast, coldly gazing down at everything around through the darkness.
"Kill me or be killed by me."
Ronan stood high above on the platform, sweeping his gaze over each figure on the seven stone pillars below, calmly speaking, "Who will be the first?"
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